Life examples of negative and positive stress

How you view a stressor can impact how it will affect you on a day to day basis.

Psychology takes a look at how these stresses make a difference to you and how you feel.

Stresses are factors in life that can influence how you interact with others and how you function on a daily basis.

What are some negative stressors?

Negative stress is potentially overwhelming and perhaps out of your control.

Negative sources can include the loss of a job, medical illness, learning your spouse had an affair, or mental unrest, such as depression.

But what exactly does it mean to experience positive stress and how does it affect our psychological health?

What is positive stress?

Positive examples of stressors, much like negative ones may seem like a bit daunting at times, but is usually something we feel, at least in the psychological sense, that it’s in our control. Here are a few real life examples:

Planning a wedding

Having a baby

Buying your first home

Purchasing your dream car

Getting promoted at work

Finding your true love

Getting in touch with an old friend or lost relative

Graduating from college

Taking a placement exam

Going on vacation

Landing your dream job

Each of these sources, while positive on the surface brings with it a new sense of tension and anxiety. In turn, each of them may result in your feeling a bit overwhelmed psychologically.

You enjoy each of the activities, even of the baby keeps you up late at night or you have spent many years as a swinging bachelor and decide you’re ready for marriage!

Life changes may result in modified thoughts and feelings, each potentially resulting in stress.

Managing stress in healthy ways such as through exercise, communicating with others, or finding a healthy outlet for your stress, can help you stay sound psychologically. What different sources of stress do you have? Do you consider them positive or negative in nature?